Baylor eager for era of new home to kick off

By Tim Griffin :
April 30, 2014
: Updated: May 1, 2014 9:41am

Baylor's $260 million McLane Stadium along the banks of the Brazos River will host the season opener Aug. 31 against SMU.

Photo By Rod Aydelotte/Associated Press

The new Baylor McLane $260 million on-campus stadium is seen through a wide-angle lens. The stadium is located on a 93-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 35 and the Brazos River. Officials gave a tour of the stadium, Wednesday, April 30, 2014, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)

Photo By Rod Aydelotte/Associated Press

Work continues on Baylor's McLane $260 million on-campus stadium located on a 93-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 35 along the Brazos River. Officials gave a tour of the stadium, Wednesday, April 30, 2014, in Waco, Texas. The stadium is slated to open for the fall football season. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)

Photo By Rod Aydelotte / Associated Press

Workers are dwarfed by the giant video board at Baylor's McLane Stadium, of which 80 percent has been completed.

Photo By Jerry Larson/Associated Press

The bronze statue of Baylor University former head football coach Grant Teaff rests in a crate as workers remove the marble slabs from Grant Teaff Plaza at Floyd Casey Stadium to storage, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, in Waco, Texas. The pieces will be reinstalled at the new McLane stadium under construction near the campus. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Jerry Larson)

WACO — Perhaps more than any Baylor fan, Brian Nicholson is looking forward to the opening of McLane Stadium.

It's hard for Nicholson, Baylor's associate vice president of facilities, planning and construction, to get away from the Bears' new football venue developing along the banks of the Brazos River.

There's a running clock on his desk that shows how much time remains until the stadium's opener.

“Every day when you walk in, you can see it,” Nicholson said. “You are reminded of it every day. We're excited because we're getting close to the end, and we're excited to finish it.”

It will be the first new stadium built in the Big 12 since West Virginia opened Milan Puskar Stadium in 1980. It is the newest among schools in the “Big Five” conferences since Minnesota opened TCF Bank Stadium in 2009.

“If you are involved in development or construction, athletics, it just doesn't happen,” Nicholson said. “How many stadiums do you get to do?

“Just personally, this is a great sense of personal accomplishment, and I think I can say that for everybody at the university. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

With about 80 percent of the $260 million facility completed, the building's Aug. 29 opener for a high school game between Aledo and Cedar Park seems well within reach. That early game will provide a shakedown cruise before Baylor's first game of the season two days later against SMU.

“We've got a lot of work to do in the next couple of months, but we're on track,” said Jim Heley, the senior project manager for the stadium project. “We've got 123 days before the first game, so we're in good shape.”

Nicholson said the building will be functional when fans arrive for the first game.

“To the general public, when you come in, it will be done,” Nicholson said. “You will see signage up. There's not going to be wet paint. Your seat will be up and ready, and it will be a completed facility.”

Baylor officials said they have sold about 28,000 season tickets and should be sold out by the season opener. The facility will have about 42,000 permanent seats with room for about 3,000 more patrons on berms in the end zone.

Excitement from Baylor's Big 12 championship last season has driven demand for the sale of 36 suites, 79 loge boxes and 1,250 club suites.

Baylor football coach Art Briles has placed the stadium along his regular jogging trail, although he has made only a cursory visit inside the facility. Briles arrived for a few minutes for a preseason magazine shoot several weeks ago before leaving without taking much of a glance at his team's new digs.

Baylor Nation has been a little different in its reaction.

“The people are obviously excited,” said Todd Patulski, Baylor's assistant athletic director for finance and administration. “They understand what an incredible building this will be. Knowing that every piece of the stadium and all of the amenities will be that much better, we've gotten some great feedback and excitement from the fans.”